Bless the Broken Road Ch. 06

"Aimee, let me start by saying I am so deeply sorry about what happened. Everything. Well, not getting to know you. That part I will never forget. You will always have a piece of my heart."

"You had me brought here to tell me goodbye? Not that it wasn't obvious we were over almost before it started but..."

"Look, I didn't remember Jessie. I didn't know she was waiting for me. I would have NEVER done what I did had I known. She was kept from seeing me by Maddie and Dr. Fisher for the sake of my mental state until I could process Lisa's death. You and I, had we met under any other circumstances, I'm sure we would be together. Jessie and I have been together for a while and I now remember that I love her with all my heart and soul. That doesn't mean you are excluded. What you and I have is special in its own way and I will not give that up. Ever. I won't give up on you."

Aimee sat for a moment mulling over Rob's words. "So, you want to be friends? How could I see you and not be reminded of how my heart was broken? You maybe don't care how much I was hurt so long as you feel better?"

That's not it at all. I want to be friends. I owe you far more than you realize, and I can never return that if you leave."

Why do you think you owe me something?"

"I owe you my life. You knew what I did when Lisa died. When I was coming out from under the sedative, I wanted to die. I didn't care how. And I would have done it. But you stopped that. You gave me a reason to keep going. When I heard your voice, felt your touch, I realized I had something else to be here for. You brought me back, stopping me from no doubt hurting a lot of people. I owe you so much, Aimee. Please, let me be a part of your life. That's all I ask."

Aimee didn't have a clue how to respond. She was still raw from it all and this was not the speech she expected to hear. She could tell that Rob was hurting too. They were both victims of this. Neither was to blame. But what to do with that? She knew her feelings for Rob would complicate things. She hoped she could overcome them, and a friend is better than no friend. "What about Jessie? How does she feel about all this?"

"I haven't spoken to her yet. I wanted to speak with you first. If you agreed to not disown me, then I would have to include that when I talk to her. She will have to understand what you mean to me and that I won't accept her playing games if she isn't happy about this."

"And if she doesn't accept it? Us?"

"I really and honestly don't know. I'm hoping she understands and trusts me. I'll have to see. I hate to say she has to accept it or else, but I'm hoping she will understand."

"Talk to her. I don't want to have your split-up on my conscience. If she can be okay with this, I think I'd like to remain friends but if she can't handle this, and I don't know many women who would, then I don't want this."

"I understand. That's as much as I can ask. Aimee? For what it's worth, I could have loved you very easily. You're the type of woman that a man couldn't help but love. You are incredibly special. If things had been different, I would have tried everything in my power to sweep you off your feet and carry you to that far-away castle, because you are deserving of that."

Rob didn't realize how deeply that hurt Aimee. He was trying to cheer her up and boost her self-esteem, but what he did was just make the wound deeper. What she wanted was for Rob to be that knight. She had to look down so Rob couldn't see her disappointment until she could compose herself.

"Well, you know where I live now, so when you have your answer, let me know." Aimee stood up quickly and walked out of the room without saying goodbye. He shook his head wondering what he had done wrong to make her suddenly so upset.

Aimee walked to the waiting room to meet Hoss. Her eyes were red, and she tried but couldn't hide her sadness. She wanted to avoid being quizzed by him about what had happened.

Hoss could tell right away that things had gone badly for her. "Aimee? I um... I feel bad about threatening to carry you in here. Would you like something to eat? It's the least I can do to make up for what I did. I'm starving and we are already out. Let me make it up to you," Hoss asked.

Aimee didn't feel like eating but she didn't feel like being alone either. She looked at Hoss, who seemed to have a genuine look of concern and remorse on his face. It seemed strange to her because he didn't look like the compassionate type, but it was a nice gesture on his part, and he was a friend of Bob's. She felt that if Bob thought enough of him to be his friend, she should be able to trust him. "I may have something to drink but I'm not hungry. Still want me to go?"

Hoss smiled. "Absolutely. You pick the spot. My only request is that they serve some form of cooked animals."

*****

With his talk with Aimee out of the way, Rob knew it was time to talk with Jessie. He was worried that Jessie would see what he did as cheating. Even if she still wanted to be with him, would she think of him as a cheater? What if she no longer wanted to be with him? That raised panic in him that he wasn't prepared to deal with at the moment. Combined with the fact that he had recently learned she had been kidnapped and held hostage; his emotions were slipping out of control. Obviously, she was now safe and the rescue went as planned... at least he assumed it did... but this was all new and recent to him as if it had just happened. He wanted to speak with Maddie about this before he spoke with Jessie. He sent word through Chelsea for Maddie to stop by.

Rob was absentmindedly pacing the room when his door opened. He was expecting Maddie, but it was Jessie who walked in. Seeing her, he was overcome and flooded with emotions and all he could do was go to her. He picked her up and hugged her, lifting her off her feet. He was sorry she had been abducted and that he had hurt her. He loved her so much and felt bad about everything that had happened to her but was glad she was okay and had come to see him. "Jessie, I love you with all my heart. I'm so sorry," he spoke gently into her ear.

Jessie was taken aback by what he was doing. This was not what she had expected to happen at all. She was prepared to do whatever she had to do to win him back. "I love you too baby," she said softly.

"I'm glad you stopped by. I was expecting Maddie. I told her I needed to talk with her," Rob said.

Jessie was a little confused. "Maddie called me and told me to come to see you."

"What!? When did she tell you that?"

"About two hours ago. Why?"

Rob thought for a minute. That time frame put it at about the time that Maddie would have gotten the call to see him. Maddie had set this up!

"Apparently she is way ahead of both of us. She can be stubborn and calculating at times, but I can't stay mad at her even after I find out she has pulled something like this," Rob said.

"Yeah, I'm finding that out about her."

"I'm sorry Jessie. I know what I did hurt you and I can't take that back," Rob said as he let her down onto the ground."

Still holding onto Rob, she said, "What matters is the here and now and what comes in the future because we have each other."

"I'm glad to hear that. I was worried about whether you still wanted to be with me. There are some things I need to talk with you about."

"Do we need to do that now?" Jessie asked, a little confused.

"I want to make sure we have an understanding of each other. I'm tired of surprises and don't want something to mess us up in the future."

Jessie couldn't figure out what it might be that he needed to say.

"I had a visitor today. She told me some of what happened that landed me in here. I need you to tell me the rest."

Jessie was shocked. She had been worried about how Rob might take the news of what happened. If he knew at least some of it, he was taking it much better than she had hoped.

"Who was she?"

"A young girl. A redhead. Her name was Alex... Alexandra Mc... something. My short-term memory isn't what it used to be."

"Alex! She was here? How is she? What did she tell you?"

"She seems like she's working on some deep problems. She couldn't tell me everything but some things she did tell me. And what she told me; I don't remember any of it. Will you tell me what happened?"

"Are you sure this is a good idea? Right now?"

"I got most of the highlights. You were kidnapped by Jack. Hoss, somebody named Brett, and I went to your farm to get you. I was injured, Hoss took me to the hospital, and you and Brett found Alex and another girl in the house. None of that I remember. So, can you tell me what happened? ALL of it."

"We better sit down," Jessie said. They sat on the bed and both immediately reached for the other's hands.

"That night Jack set the terminal on fire. It was a diversion to separate us. While you were at the fire, they came to the house."

"A fire? At the terminal? How bad was it?"

"The terminal was a complete loss. But Merle took over and with some of the employees who stayed with the company, it has been rebuilt. Merle paid the ones who wanted to stay and help rebuild out of his own pocket. As you know, if they continued to work, they couldn't collect unemployment.

"Merle is a really good guy. He has his fingers in a lot of things so I can imagine how much he had to put into this. I'll have to see what I can do for everyone after I get out of here." Rob added.

"When I woke up, you weren't in bed," Jessie said." I thought you might be downstairs, so I headed that way. When I got into the living room, I heard noises and voices at the front door. I saw the light on the house alarm, and it was still set. I figured it was someone trying to break in and I heard more than one voice, so I ran back upstairs to grab my Glock. I didn't bother with my phone. I knew that if whoever it was got inside, the alarm would go off. I didn't know they had disabled the alarm."

"When I got to the bottom of the steps, two men were just coming through the door. I shot several times and then ran to the top of the steps. I stopped there thinking the steps were a good funneling point and anyone who made it there would be hard to miss. There was yelling and then three or four guys came to the bottom of the steps. They had guns but they never shot at me. I knew I couldn't shoot them all, so I fired a few times to slow them down and then ran to the bedroom. I hoped to hold up in there until the police showed up," she said, watching him carefully for his reaction.

"Before I could get the door closed and locked, they were there. They pushed the door open and knocked me to the ground. I dropped my Glock and three of them grabbed me." Jessie stopped as she saw Rob's reaction. He was really upset hearing this and she didn't know what he might do. She didn't want him doing something to get himself in trouble with the hospital. She knew he wouldn't hurt her though. So, she squeezed his hand more tightly.

"Rob, I know this upsets you. But it happened months ago. I'm okay. I'm right here." She tried her best to smile to reassure him.

"I know this is in the past. But hearing it... just give me a minute. Okay?" Rob said as he struggled to calm himself down.

Jessie leaned in and gave him a soft kiss on his cheek. "Now stop thinking about what you would have done to them if you had been there. I know that's what you're thinking."

Rob looked at her and the intensity in his face faded. "Are all women mind readers?"

"When it comes to guys, we don't have to work very hard at it. Guys are straightforward and predictable. Should I be less descriptive and more general, or do you want to know everything? I know this is hard for you and I don't want to make it any harder than it has to be," she said.

"Maybe you should be more general. We can cover the details later once I've gotten through this initial shock," Rob said.

"They tied me up and took me out to a van. It was while in the van and being taken somewhere that I learned Jack was behind. One of the guys called and spoke to him. At the farm, they carried me into the barn and that is when Jack took the video of me and emailed it to you. They had no problem talking in front of me, so I knew Jack was planning on killing you and he made sure that everyone knew that only he was to do it. Everyone else needed to back off on that. No excuses."

"A video?"

"It was how Jack was going to get you to the farm. He emailed it to you using my phone so you would be sure to see it." Jessie paused for a moment to allow Rob to process a little of what he'd heard up to this point. She didn't want to overwhelm him with so much horrible information.

"I still didn't know where you were. No one talked about it and so I was confused and trying to figure out where you might have gone that you weren't at home. After a little while, Jack told everyone to get in their positions. I was alone in the loft, or at least I thought I was. Jack was the last one to leave after saying something to me. He walked down the steps and it was quiet. It seemed like forever until suddenly you were behind me, although I didn't know it was you at first."

"You were about to cut my wrists loose when Jack came out from the far side of the loft. I guess he had come back in through the sliding loft door and I didn't hear him. It was when you whispered in my ear to take the knife that you shoved into my hand that I knew it was you."

"Jack had his gun aimed at both of us and you moved away from me. I didn't understand it at the time, but I guess you wanted him looking and aiming at you and not me. You had words with Jack. And that is when Jack admitted that he had killed Gregg," pausing for a moment to regain her composure.

"I thought all along that he had something to do with that," Rob said. "The first day we met, and you told me that story, I had a bad feeling. I meant to talk to you about it, but the opportunity never really came up. Shit... I can't believe I remember that."

"Do you remember any of the events I've told you so far?" she asked.

"No. I'm sorry. I don't. But don't worry, things seem to pop in when they want. I'm not worried about it. Go ahead."

At that moment, the door to Rob's room opened and Dr. Fisher entered. The look on both Rob and Jessie's face told her they were in a deep discussion. "Hello Mr. Martin, Jessie. I wanted to speak with you for a few minutes, but I don't want to disturb you. It looks like I walked in on something important."

"Jessie was telling me about the night that I was injured. So far, I don't remember any of it but please stay if you can." He looked at Jessie. "If that's okay with you? I think I've done okay so far but if it gets to a point where I need help, it would be nice if she were here."

Rob knew he was taking a big risk, but if this was the last of the important stuff that he needed to try to remember, he needed Dr. Fisher to see that he was handling his emotions better.

"If you don't mind hearing this with Dr. Fisher here, that's okay with me. Should I continue?" Jessie asked.

"Absolutely," Rob said.

"While you and Jack were talking, suddenly Tim came out from the shadows behind you. I tried to warn you, but you couldn't understand me with my mouth gagged." She stopped, trying to push down that feeling that she failed to warn him. "He swung the bat and..." Jessie stopped again, her face showing the agony of remembering what happened. Her eyes watered up as she fought back the tears and her voice strained and cracked as she continued, "He hit you so hard..."

Jessie broke down crying and Rob quickly put his arm around her and pulled her in close.

"He hit you in the head with the bat and you dropped to the floor. You didn't move for a second but then you struggled to get up on your hands and knees. That is when I started cutting myself loose. Jack walked up to you and pointed his gun at your head. "

"I had cut myself free enough that I was able to dive for your gun that you threw down in front of me. As soon as I grabbed it, I shot Jack in the back. When he fell, Tim was in line behind him and I shot him. It was only when I got free and went to you that I saw your head wound. I didn't think Jack had fired but he did. You were still conscious but bleeding a lot. You passed out, but right before you did, you told me you loved me. I was afraid you had died, and I screamed," Jessie sobbed, her voice trailing off. After a moment to recover, she continued. "Right after that, Hoss and Brett came up to the loft."

"Okay wait. Who is Brett?"

"Brett is a friend of Hoss' that came along when you called Hoss for help after seeing the video Jack sent you of me."

"Oh. I'll have to find out from Hoss who he is."

"So that is how you ended up here," Jessie said.

"How did you end up finding Alex and the other girl?"

"Hoss picked you up and took you to the hospital, leaving Brett to get me out of there. As we were leaving, I remembered something that Jack had said to you. He said he had already replaced me, as in having a woman. But something didn't feel right about that to me. I didn't believe that with... with how he treated me, that he'd find a woman to do all that willingly. And in the time frame that I had been gone. I learned too late how Jack did things so I felt if there was another woman, she likely wouldn't be there willingly. "

"I convinced Brett to check the house, in case I was right. There was no good reason not to check and I would have been devastated to find out later that someone was there, and no one knew about it. When Brett searched the house, that is when he found Alex and Julie. We brought them to the hospital where you were so they could be checked, and we could be with you."

Rob was deep in thought but he remembered none of this. Still, he wasn't alarmed just yet. He told Dr. Fisher that he remembered none of what Jessie had told him.

"Mr. Martin, it is not unusual for a head trauma patient to have no recollection of the events recently preceding up to their injury," explained Dr. Fisher. "When we sleep, our brains consolidate our memories from the current day. That consolidation, although we don't understand it yet, takes our recent memories and cements them into lasting memories. It's sort of like taking the information that is held in the RAM portion of a computer and writing it to the hard drive. Anything in the RAM is lost if the computer loses power. However, if it is written to the hard drive, it is always there, ready to be 'remembered' whenever it is accessed."

"Your brain stores the day's information until you sleep when it is consolidated into lasting memories. When you were injured, you may have lost what was in your 'RAM'. Sometimes it happens. It is not an issue beyond the fact that the patient often has a hard time dealing with not remembering. The fact that the information is no longer there is not a medical worry, " she said, intending to alleviate his concern.

"So, you think I'm okay? Relatively speaking? "

Looking at Rob closely, she continued. "I think you handled this situation very well. I watched you as Jessie told her story. What I didn't see was you on the edge or fighting to stay away from going over the edge and into an uncontrollable rage, which was my main concern. It is not uncommon to have an adverse reaction to learning about things that you think you should remember, but don't. However, we have always been concerned with you because of your training and what has happened in your past. I spoke with Ms. Danner about this, and I believe that we can proceed with your case on an outpatient basis."

"Outpatient? Like getting out of here? "Rob asked excitedly.

"Yes. You still need therapy, but I see no reason that it can't be handled outside of the hospital. There is no need to keep you here any longer than necessary. And I don't see it necessary to keep you here."